Broadband Ups and Downs

Proving once again that whether the bottle is half full or half empty depends on where you sit. According to the U.S., the country is falling behind in terms of broadband communications connections when compared to other countries. But according to those "other" countries, they are simply moving ahead.

Overall, according to information released this week by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, U.S. broadband penetration among worldwide industrialized nations dropped from 12th to 15th place. Moreover, the U.S. ranks 20th in the 30-member OECD roster in terms of growth rate of broadband penetration in the last year. Still, the U.S. did manage to keep its lead position with the largest total number of broadband subscribers in the OECD -- 58 million. Interestingly, the U.S. differs from most other countries in that its broadband deployment is provided by cable TV companies, compared to DSL provided by phone companies elsewhere.

In its analysis of additional OECD broadband statistics, Free Press, a lobbying group focusing on universal access, said that U.S. consumers pay dearly for broadband -- $10 per Mbps versus the $1 or less per Mbps that is paid on average by other OECD nations.

European countries are leading broadband deployment with Denmark, the Netherlands, Iceland, Switzerland, Finland, Norway, and Sweden in the forefront of the rankings.

Posted by Jon Erickson at 02:19 PM  Permalink

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